Hey, anyone dealing with estrogen dominance, either peri or post menopause? I posted in the thyroid forum looking for anyone who might be going through the same stuff. My thryoid seems to finally be properly medicated (according to labs) but I still have the raging symptoms of a sluggish thyroid.
After getting a copy of the labs from my PCM, i see that my estrogen is 3 times what it should be. In googling estrogen dominance symptoms, everything is dead on.

Im just wondering if anyone might be going through the same hell?
Its been 3 years for me in trying to get this diagnosed. Otherwise, im young and healthy. I have a GYN appt tomorrow for a pap (ugh) and exam. I see that sometimes estrogen dominance can be from ovarian cysts and I have had those off and on for 20 years.

Yow.. ive posted this exact question on 3 different boards with 300+ views and not one comment. Noone has gone through this? Not one single person has experienced hormonal inbalances and the symptoms associated with it?

Guess its just me here..
OK, so I think ive figured out my issue is progesterone deficiency, which in turns causes estrogen dominance problems as my estrogen was sky high and my prog. barely registering. Ive gone through all causes of this very common imbalance and have ruled it down to most likely, alcohol consumption. As long as there is alcohol in the system, the liver puts all other tasks on hold until the toxin is excreted from the body. Those like me who drink wine several times a week could throw the liver into super stressed mode, causing it to stop its job of eliminating excess estrogen, which in high doses, causes cancer and a host of other issues. Hormonal imbalance is the key to health and weight loss. SOO ive sworn off the booze permanantely, started 3000 mg of milk thistle a day for liver support, a good thyroid booster, a women's multivatamin, black cohosh once a day and dong quoi as an herbal hormone balancer. Close to induction level carbs and lots of water. We will see where my numbers are again soon. I did get another progesterone test done this week and my numbers went from 0.78 to 7.50! That is great improvement, so I *think* im on the right track.

Not that anyone is here to talk, but i'll update in a couple of weeks. =)

I don’t have experience with Estrogen dominance personally but know that Estrogen unopposed is very dangerous. I see that someone already responded in the Thyroid thread about the Black Cohosh. If you are on Thyroid meds this is not a good idea.

You need to find a Dr. who will properly test your Sex Hormones and get you started on Bio-identicals. The Progesterone is especially important as we age in order to avoid bone loss. Most good doctors who test thyroid also test the sex hormones every 6 months. They will also run Vit. D, B-12 and ferritin levels. Low Vit. D and B-12 can make you feel pretty crappy.

Many of the doctors who specialize in this do not take insurance so you have to pay out of pocket. In Nashville they run about $250 an hour for consult fees but the lab work is covered by insurance.

Contact the compound pharmacies in your area and they can usually tell you where to find a good doctor who specializes in this. Bio-identical Hormone Replacement and aging medicine is pretty main stream now so you should be able to find a clinic in your area. Just might not be cheap.

Thanks Erin, I really appreciate your feedback. I will stop the black cohosh. Guess ive just gotten a lot of conflicting advice regarding it. Im really just hoping my system corrects itself on its own, hormone balance wise, with eating low carb, avoiding sugars, taking my vitamins and continuing my exercise regime. We do have a doctor here who specializes in bio identical hormone replacement but she costs $350 for the first visit, which includes blood work, B12 injection and nutrition information plus some supplements but the actual hormone replacements are extra.

Wishing you the best, that estrogen dominance/progesterone deficiency is a pain in the butt. I have it,Had a full hyster 8 years ago just found it last year.My Dr ask me "Do you dream?" I said not for years & years, also we did a saliva cortisol test & found mine was way high during the night and when it was supposed to go up it was coming down, I am on 200mg progesterone taken at night. Works great. I now I dream

__________________
If hunger is not the problem ~ then eating is not the solution.~Author Unknown I really need to remember this late at night

Does your MD do saliva testing periodically to make sure things are balanced?

Im seeing an OBGYN next thurs morning to do a salivia profile for sex hormones and then she will prescribe the bio identical hormones that are missing.
All out of pocket of course, but im pretty desperate at this point to get my life back..

I had it all, POCS, thyroid,cortisol, the weight, hair loss, anxiety I wish you the best I know where you have been.The thing with the dreams is you never get into the rem sleep so you don't get any rest.

__________________
If hunger is not the problem ~ then eating is not the solution.~Author Unknown I really need to remember this late at night

Anna, did you have any unpleasant side affects from the progest cream? I read some really horrid online reviews.. mainly immediate weight gain This imbalance has already caused a 30 lb gain in 3 years.. i CANNOT gain anymore.. ive gained and lost the same 5 lbs for 2 years now.

I started a new thread in the "womens health" section about bio identical hormone replacement.. i will do saliva testing on the 24th... i hope something really jumps out to my doc..

Ive gone through all causes of this very common imbalance and have ruled it down to most likely, alcohol consumption. As long as there is alcohol in the system, the liver puts all other tasks on hold until the toxin is excreted from the body. Those like me who drink wine several times a week could throw the liver into super stressed mode, causing it to stop its job of eliminating excess estrogen, which in high doses, causes cancer and a host of other issues.

Tracy, I have gone through everything you are going through...and I can tell you from experience that you hit the nail on the head!

__________________God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change,
the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me.

Tracy, I have gone through everything you are going through...and I can tell you from experience that you hit the nail on the head!

It makes sense, doesnt it?

Hey, I remember a Shayde from here, years back.. i wonder if you are the same.. we had a No/Less alcohol forum going for a long time.. Bam, Melissa, Diane, Pat, Chelsea.. any of these sound familiar? We all got nixed in that big ban and moved over to Healthy Friends and Family. We keep in touch on facebook mostly now.

Hey, I remember a Shayde from here, years back.. i wonder if you are the same.. we had a No/Less alcohol forum going for a long time.. Bam, Melissa, Diane, Pat, Chelsea.. any of these sound familiar? We all got nixed in that big ban and moved over to Healthy Friends and Family. We keep in touch on facebook mostly now.

Of course it's me, silly!

__________________God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change,
the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me.

The hot flashes are gone, the sleeplessness is gone I think the wellbutrin has a lot to do with being more balanced, The weight is still a problem, The hair is still thinner than years ago. Metabolic X syndrome = thyroid even with "GOOD" labs, Poly ovarian cystic syndrome, weight gain, excess hair where you don't want it. Insulin resistance, diabetes & estrogen dominance.

__________________
If hunger is not the problem ~ then eating is not the solution.~Author Unknown I really need to remember this late at night

Last year my Dr. put me on Aygestin (a progestin) everyday because my uterine lining was too thick and all of a sudden I started to drop weight. My moods were amazing, no more anxiety, and I was losing weight like a normal person should on a "diet"!

I am also able to lose weight if on birth control because it sort of puts a bandaid on it and makes my body think everything is normal.

Now.. been off hormones since May and I have been gaining and losing the same 5lbs which most of it is water weight. I know I need to be on some sort of progesterone to lose weight. I have no idea why I can't lose weight with out progesterone.

Sorry to take the thread off topic but ugh, it's such a pain in the butt. I am wondering if my thyroid could be off now as well.

Huh, that IS weird..
Did you notice any side affects on the progest cream?
I know the blood work isnt supposed to be nearly as accurate as the saliva but in doing research online, progesterone figures in the blood should be 10 or above (i believe) and mine was .78.
4 weeks later, taken blood again, it was 7.
So i really think low progesterone, high estrogen is my issue.

You might try jack kruse's site. Go to the forum and search for estrogen dominance. Several women have been successful at getting their ratios straightened out. If you don't find what you need in the forum, try searching the blog.

Progesterone is the first to go when approaching menopause. Different forms of progesterone can have different effects. I gained weight on compounded progesterone - much to my surprise. I know the pharmacy took a lot of time to prepare the right dose relative to my other hormone levels but apparently, it is a much more complex problem to balance hormones, at least in my case. I can only conclude my dose was too high.

OMG I'm so happy to find someone else struggling with this issue!! I've been on Atkins induction for almost 2 weeks and fighting to lose weight. I had labs drawn last week to check my hormones and thyroid is fine (TSH, T3 and T4) but my estrogen is off the charts. I was diagnosed with low progesterone several years ago and started on progesterone cream but stopped during my pregnancy in 2008 and never restarted. I haven't been able to lose weight since my pregnancy. I feel a lot better on the low carb diet so am staying on it but I would love to lose weight as well! LOL! I ordered progesterone cream today so will start on that again. We'll see!!

Hi, welcome!
Im sorry you are in the same boat as me.. it is SO frustrating to be eating clean and exercising and the scale will NOT budge.

Are you going to do the saliva testing to see where your progest/ estrogen is?

I was looking on Amazon yesterday at some of the natural progesterone creams people are using and im interested in the Pro-gest, I think is the name.. it had soo many great reviews...

People reported everything from dimished hot flashes to insane libido
Only a few had bad reviews... i wonder if those people are the ones that are treating/ dosing/ without saliva testing and physician monitoring

I know it would be easy to just order the stuff and start small doses and see what happens, but without the salivia testing, seems like a dangerous move to me...